


Divine Intervention

by adrisbee



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:37:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7587208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adrisbee/pseuds/adrisbee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassandra and Vivienne are still in love, but how will the decision from the Divine Council affect their relationship?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Divine Intervention

**Author's Note:**

  * For [arlathan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arlathan/gifts).



> **Prompt:** Cassandra x Vivienne, one reacting to the other becoming Divine.
> 
> Thanks again to @archertethras (on tumblr) for your editing skills!

First, Cassandra freezes.

It’s not a good response, she knows. Were she in battle, she’d be dead. But she’s simply training in the courtyard when the news comes, and words have always thrown Cassandra off her guard. That’s part of how Varric always gets to her so easily.

So she freezes. Nearly stares a hole through the Mother before her, who keeps nervously eyeing the practice sword, which, to the Mother’s credit, Cassandra is now clasping in a death grip.

“You are certain,” Cassandra says, her eyes wide and incredulous.

The Mother’s gazes flits warily between Cassandra’s face and the practice sword in her hand. “Y-yes, Seeker Pentaghast. The Divine Council has chosen the new Divine Victoria. In a few months’ time, the coronation will be held in Val Royeaux. As the Right Hand of Justi-”

Divine. They have chosen the new Divine. They have chosen Divine Victoria. They have chosen— Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

“I must take my leave,” Cassandra interrupts, walking away to place her practice sword down by the nearby tree stump. Then, she breaks into a run. Sprinting across the courtyard, as though her armor weighed nothing and she were back in the Emprise du Lion, fleeing from the three high dragons they’d found nesting in that frigid, red lyrium-infested nightmare.

The people in front of her leap out of her way as she rushes through the courtyard and up the main staircase to the main hall, undoubtedly seeking to avoid experiencing “being crushed by a battering ram,” as the Inquisitor had described it when she slammed into them during a training session. And from the main hall, it is only a staircase and a few hallways to the companions’ private rooms.

Cassandra races through the hallways, nearly knocking over a particularly nimble elven servant, who manages to duck under the Seeker’s arm and dive out of the way just in the nick of time. But despite several near misses, Cassandra soon dashes around the last corner, practically crashing through the doorway of one room in particular, slowing down just enough so she wouldn’t splinter the door by accident.

“I just heard the news, I came as fast as I could, and-” Cassandra pauses, sucking in a breath of air, still reeling from her race from the courtyard. “You… you are the new Divine. Divine Victoria.”

“I see that word travels fast, Seeker Pentaghast,” Vivienne responds, standing from where she was sitting on the side of her bed, setting down the book she was holding on a nearby end table.

Cassandra takes another moment to breathe, staring at the floor, placing a hand on the cool stone wall to ground herself. Her thoughts swirled as though caught in a whirlpool. “You are the Divine, and yet you are a mage. I can hardly believe it.”

“I am a Grand Enchanter, it's true,” Vivienne concedes. “And yet, the Divine Council has made its decision. Are you alright, my dear? You seem a little faint.”

Cassandra stares, her head spinning with discomfort and confusion. “I… I do not know what to think. You know how I care for you, but you are the Divine now. You are the Most Holy. And I know you. You will twist the Chantry until it bends around your finger like a ring.”

“There is time before the coronation, Cassandra. Preparations are still being made,” the Grand Enchanter's tone stiffens, yet her air of confidence and competence never wavers.

Cassandra’s eyes narrow in return. “So you do not deny it.”

“My darling, a Divine must always plan her entrance carefully. But a mage Divine? She must plan double.”

Cassandra scoffs in disgust, shaking her head in disapproval. “You see the Sunburst Throne as an extension of the Game!”

Vivienne stands tall, not backing down an inch. “I see it as politics, my dear. There is little difference.”

“Grand Ench-”

“Vivienne, darling,” she says, her voice softening.

“I… Vivienne.” Cassandra slumps her shoulders forwards and sighs. “You know I will disagree with you. I care for you deeply, but I cannot pretend that I will hold your decisions in the same love that I hold you.”

“I expected nothing different.”

Cassandra’s eyes widen in surprise. “Then you knew?”

Vivienne nods, not breaking eye contact. “From the moment I was presented with the Divine Council’s decision.”

Cassandra sighs, the shake in her voice betraying her sorrow. “Then you understand. This, we…”

“All good things must come to an end, Cassandra.” Vivienne says, stepping forward to place her hand on Cassandra's cheek. “Love always leaves too soon.”

Cassandra sighs again, leaning into Vivienne's touch, her heart aching with longing. “It does, doesn't it?”

Vivienne leans forwards, pulling Cassandra into a kiss. Cassandra tenses in surprise, but soon the Seeker finds herself melting into her lover's arms. It feels so natural to hold Vivienne’s waist, to guide her until she's sitting on the edge of the bed.

There's no way that Vivienne will continue to hold this affection for her after the coronation. Vivienne will be Divine Victoria. And Divines cannot have lovers, no matter the feelings of the women they were before. Still, her lover is not yet the Divine, Cassandra thinks as she kneels before Vivienne, placing a soft kiss on the inside of the Grand Enchanter's thigh. And if there are moments to take, she would take them while she still can. “I know this must pass. And yet, I do not want this to end.”

Vivienne nods, her lips flushed and freshly bitten. “Love may leave too soon, Cassandra, but it has not left just yet.”

“Then we should take advantage,” Cassandra breathes, her eyes locked with Vivienne’s. “Full advantage.”

The warmth in her lover's gaze is nearly overwhelming, and Cassandra’s breath hitches in anticipation as Vivienne begins to loosen the laces of her bodice and breeches. “Of every last moment. Every second of it.”

That, at least, is something that they will agree on.


End file.
